This is a drawing from a Black History Month assignment given to second graders at Atlantic Beach Elementary School.

A coloring assignment sent home to an Atlantic Beach Elementary second grader during Black History Month featuring minstrel caricatures of African-Americans, blackface and a lynching has prompted an investigation by the Duval County school system.

“It was just highly inappropriate use of imaging for coloring for second graders,” said James Hill, father of a student who received the material.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said the materials “raised immediate concerns that warranted an investigation.”

It’s unclear how many students received the material.

The assignment came from the website edHelper.com, which said the materials were suitable for eighth- and ninth-graders.

Hill’s son’s second-grade teacher is Teresa Flores.

Flores has not returned emails for comment.

Hill said he and his wife, who is the “room parent” in Flores’ class, don’t hold the teacher responsible for the assignment. He said he believed the assignment either “snuck” by Flores or was handed out by an assistant. Instead, he blames edHelper.com for the material.

“Any scene depicting a murder of any kind just seems inappropriate for coloring,” he said.

EdHelper.com, which has not returned inquiries for comment, does not identify the assignment as a coloring exercise. The 13-page document uses drawings and text to address the history of slavery and Jim Crow, a term used for what was once government-sanctioned segregation in the South.

Vitti said the district’s policy allows for teachers to use outside resources for instruction as long as it aligns with the standards.

EdHelper.com faced criticism in 2011 for a lesson given to some Georgia third-graders on immigration. One of the lesson’s questions asked how the U.S. deals with “illegal aliens.” Among the multiple choice answers were the U.S. kills them, another said the U.S. shoots them into outer space.

Hill said he and his wife aren’t sure who provided the material to his son or how many students received the assignment.

In early February, the couple emailed their concerns to Atlantic Beach principal Kimberley Wright about the issue. Hill said the principal responded the next day that the matter was under investigation.

Wright did not return a call to the Times-Union for comment.

The investigation began on Tuesday after Melissa Nelson, whom Hill’s wife showed the assignment to, sent an email to Vitti and all seven School Board members.

“It’s crude, it’s disgusting,” Nelson said, whose granddaughter is a fourth-grader at the school. “It’s everything we don’t want to teach our children. You’re suppose to have children color this man hanging in the tree?”

Nelson said the school and Flores are both responsible for ensuring appropriate materials are used with students.

Elnora Atkins, chairwoman of the education committee for the local NAACP branch, said the material was offensive and wasn’t age appropriate.

“I didn’t know they still did things like that in schools in today,” Atkins said. “Even though it happened you can still portray it and not be as negative as these pictures.”

The investigation, Vitti said, should conclude early next week and a recommendation should come no later than the School Board’s April meeting.

“The greater community can expect swift and fair disciplinary action once I receive and review the complete investigation,” he said.

Hill said he just wants there to be a system that ensures younger students have age-appropriate instructional material.

@stecker and John Bircher: I graduated from a private school and learned about lynching. I also remember a specific teacher that taught at a private school I attended and was fired for innapropriate behavior with students. I also remember just a few years ago a teacher basically going postal @ a local private school. My point is that there are bad educators in private schools as well as public.

One more thing, lynching, slavery, jim crow, and other injustices against blacks are taught in private schools as well. I am not sure how you can call legitimate historical events indoctrination.

It's us that condone this type behavior or not.For me, having taught for 17 1/2 years before moving onto something more challenging,I cannot wrap my brain about the benefits of teaching this to second graders.

I would not be so cavalier about dismissing this violence as something done in the past...known as history. I believe we actively, and frequently see deadly behavior daily based on a number of factors, one being race.

History is being re-written with the advent of improved scientific study,and new technology. It is now a fact that there are no races. The color of skin is dependent on environment.Melatonin is what determines skin color.It is also a huge factor in skin cancer.Fair skinned people are many times more likely to get skin melanomas. Notice the word is derived from melatonin.http://www.idph.state.il.us/cancer/factsheets/skin.htm

I can see the thumbs downs comin', but I have to say that the sooner we stop segregating ourselves into smaller and smaller groups identified by race,religion,money classifications, or anything else that divides us, the better off we'll be in the long run. I am against Black History Month,but not against black history. I am against our Christmas economy, but not against economics. I am against any belief system that makes its followers feel more privileged than any other system.I am against violence,but not against protecting yourself. I don't have the absolute need to be right all the time. In fact isn't learning from mistakes one of the most important lessons life teaches us?

"As long as there are questions to be asked and answers to be made, I'll be there"

2872 points

The Enquirer

Saturday, March 2, 2013 @ 10:27 am

This is not right. You can teach older kids about this stuff, but not elementary school kids. I agree that Black History Month should be teaching kids about the successes of black people and the good things, about pride. I'm not saying we shouldn't teach the bad things too as the saying goes, "If we don't learn from our mistakes in history, we are doomed to repeat them", however until a child's mind is developed enough to understand this is a bad part of history and no one should condone it now or then. A lot of children, black and white are being taught not just in school, but by their parents and peers, about bigotry and hate toward other races and as long as that continues, racism will always flourish. It must stop somewhere, and elementary school is definitely where this should not be taught. I don't believe there are many people left, at least in this country, that would do or condone this sort of behavior anymore or gather in Hemming Plaza with ball bats and axe handles, so I think we have come a long way, but still can improve. The old school people are dying off, so hopefully all the new school people can forget about this behavior.

@ sampsongregory...you nailed it...bet you're an awesome teacher......atlantic beach elementary is an excellent school....i know many teachers there...my daughter attended the school, albeit quite a while ago....................here are a few facts....ms flores is a bad teacher...i'll say it again, a bad teacher......she has received bad performance reviews from more than one principal.....she is well connected to the teachers union ( i believe she is still the schools union rep ).....the same teachers union that continues to protect her due to the fact that she is disabled ( in a wheelchair )....i am a supporter of the ada but the buck stops with her...period.... bad performance reviews...bad decisions....she should get due process....then she should be terminated.........this is going to be a good litmus test for superintendant viti....do the children of duval county really come first?......we shall see